Events, even those which at the time may seem insignificant, can have a profound effect on our lives and help to shape our destiny.
When Anthony Robbins was growing up he repeatedly heard that people didn't care about each other. Then one day an event happened that, in his eyes, disproved that view.
Anthony Robbins, didn't have a priviledged upbringing. His family was actually rather poor. It was Thanksgiving and his family certainly wasn't able to afford the traditional Thanksgiving fare. Then there was a loud knock on the door and when Anthony answered there stood a tall man carrying a basket brimming with goodies.
Now Robbins' father was a proud man and he did not want to accept this gift. But the man said he was just the delivery man and that the gift had come from someone who knew they were in need and wanted them to know they were loved and cared for.
And so it was that the young Anthony Robbins had a Thanksgiving to remember and for all the right reasons.
When setting goals you are often encouraged to set big goals and sometimes that can be overwhelming. Some people want to impact thousands and millions of lives but struggle to see how they can achieve such a goal. But when setting out to achieve any goal no matter how big or how small you first have to take the first step. And so, if you want to impact millions of lives first begin by changing the life of one person.
Who knows how many other families in need the person who gifted the Robbins family the food basket had helped. The thing is, when he gave the Robbins family the gift of the food basket, it made an 11-year old boy realise that, if a total stranger could be so generous that people did care about each other after all. He was so moved by this act of kindness that he promised to "pay it forward" and do a similar kind act for a family in need.
When Anthony Robbins was 18, he took his meagre wages and bought food for two families he know were suffering extreme hardship. The next year he was helping 8 families and he realised that, if this continued, he was going to need a little help and so he started enlisting the help of volunteers.
And so the Anthony Robbins Foundation's International Basket Brigade was formed, an initiative which has grown exponentially over the years and which now distributes food, clothing and other resources to an estimated 2 million people globally.
A single event, a single act of kindness, was the catalyst for change that has now benefited millions of individuals. Sometimes we hestitate to do things because we perceive that what we can do is insignificant. While it's possible that you can impact the lives of many people at one time, you should never overlook the opportunity to make a positive impact on the life of just one individual whenever you can. You never know what ripple effects your actions will have.
The stranger's act of kindness to Anthony Robbins family created an event that helped to shape his destiny and helped to forge the personal development expert who has dramatically changed the lives of millions of people
Sometimes we hestitate to do things because we perceive that what we can do is insignificant. While it's possible that you can impact the lives of many people at one time, you should never overlook the opportunity to make a positive impact on the life of just one individual whenever you can. You never know what ripple effects your actions will have.
"Everyone has the need to contribute. It is one of the six human needs. If you give from your heart, it will come back to you tenfold." Anthony Robbins
Suze Orman recently related a very moving story about a young African American woman who used to take care of her while her mother was at work. The six year-old Suze struggled to pronounce her real name and so affectionately called her "Kiki".
Kiki smoked Kool cigarettes and would send little Suze to the shop with a note to buy a pack of cigarettes for 25 cents. Now, despite Suze's tender age she was very astute.
You see, Kiki was habitually beaten by her husband. At times, the wounds he inflicted upon his wife were so bad she ended up in hospital. The Ormans would bring Kiki back to their home to recuperate but, when the physical wounds healed, Kiki would simply go back to her abusive husband.
Part of the reason for this was because she didn't have enough money to make it on her own. However, little Suze calculated that if she would quit smoking and saved those 25 cents that she would eventually have sufficient funds to make that all too important break. And she tried to persuade her carer to quit the habit of smoking and save her money so that, in effect she could buy her freedom.
But Kiki had made it a habit of returning 'home' knowing that, at some point, she would be subjected to another violent beating. Bad habits can be hard to break even when you have a powerful motivating factor.
You may be thinking how could she not summon the courage to walk away from her abusive relationship? The answer is simple - fear. For whatever reason, Kiki was probably afraid of being on her own and so she allowed herself to be regularly subjected to violence and suffered the humility of letting others see how badly her husband treated her. It was familiar territory.
Individuals who practice self-abuse and or allow others to abuse them usually suffer from self-esteem issues. It is highly likely that another reason why Kiki stayed in this abusive relationship was because she had low self-esteem. She may have thought that she was not worthy of being treated with dignity and respect. She may not have thought highly enough of herself to believe that she deserved a better life.
To compound matters Kiki was also illiterate. This can be a huge stumbling block for some individuals to overcome and it can have a devastating effect on an individual's self-image and self-esteem. It also makes you dependent on others.
Suze loved Kiki. Her dream was that when she grew up she would earn lots of money so that Kiki could move in with her and she could take care of her for the rest of her life.
Sadly, Kiki died before she reached her 40th birthday. So Suze Orman never had the opportunity to realise her dream.
Now, while that last statement is factual it isn't entirely true. You see Suze Orman spent 7 years being a waitress but the day she took on a new role as a Financial Adviser, she knew she had found her purpose in life. Being a Financial Adviser and helping others to make sound financial decisions resonated with every fibre of her being. She knew that this was what she was meant to do.
Who would argue that Kiki didn't play a key role in helping Suze Orman recognise her purpose in life? Kiki may have been a matyr in many ways but now, instead of Suze Orman helping to liberate just one individual - she's literally impacting the lives of millions of people by showing them the way to financial freedom.
I think Kiki would be filled with pride, don't you?
So are your habits empowering or sabotaging your success in life. If you have disempowering don't be afraid to seek help on whatever level you may need it. You deserve to live an abundant life.
Many people spend a lot of time, even years, soul-searching and agonising over what their purpose is in life. We can over-complicate things.
Sometimes the answer we seek is right in front of us as clear as day. Yet for some reason our brain cannot see it. I say our "brain" because it is the brain which interprets the images that we view. We can 'overlook' something simply because we don't have the ability to process the information that we are receiving through our eyes or because we have not alerted our reticular activating system as to what we should be focusing on.
I recall someone being asked what they enjoy doing and they had no answer. He was just living life day-to-day without paying any attention to the things that particularly gave him joy.
In other cases, we may know what we enjoy doing and what we would like to do with our lives but we put those activities and, effectively, our lives on hold because we are fearful of the process and even the outcome.
Eric Jong said:
"Everyone has a talent; but rare is the courage to follow the talent to the places it leads."
In other words, there are things that we are all naturally good at. We merely have to make the decision to develop a particular talent. However, many people are extremely poor decision-makers. And, as a result, instead of getting ahead in life they often remain stuck.
So, if you are one of the many who wonders about and questions your purpose in life consider this approach instead.
Simply decide what you want to do with your life and create your life accordingly. Then you can stop agonising about your life's purpose and fully commit yourself to living life on purpose.
It sounds far too easy doesn't it? Yet so often we needlessly complicate things. What if living your life on purpose was indeed as simple as choosing a direction in life and then fully committing to it.
Otherwise, we're like a pilot in a plane which is fuelled and ready for take off except we're still busy deciding on our destination. What's more if we don't take off we'll lose our window of opportunity. You can be a success if you commit yourself to being successful.
Take Victor Rubilar for example. Rubilar juggles balls - footballs. On the surface that may not sound very exciting but Rubilar travels all over Europe and the Middle East and indeed the world performing his freestyle football skills. And, in 2006 he broke three Guinness World Records in a single day.
Can you imagine the resistance he experienced when he was growing up? After all, performing tricks with footballs is not a common way to earn a living. But this was his passion and, in addition to spending years practicing his football tricks he also attended performer the National Swedish School of Contemporary Arts to train as a performer.
Today, in addition to the records he has set; Rubilar's freestyle skills have been used by major brands as Puma, Adidas, Coca Cola and Ikea. He has performed in front of hundreds and even thousands of individuals.
This is Rubilar's purpose in life. This is what he loves doing and he made a decision early on in his life to develop this talent and see where it took him. When he started out he probably didn't have a vision as to how big this would become. He was just doing what he loved doing. He probably had some doubts as well about how he could pursue his passion and earn a living at the same time but he has achieved this.
When you decide what you want to devote your life to you can then put your energy into fully developing that particular idea. However, until you decide what your purpose is in life you will lack focus and direction.
Think of people at the top of their 'game', people who you consider to be living their life on purpose - individuals such as Bill Gates, Oprah, Tiger Woods, Richard Branson and the late Anita Roddick. You'll find that generally, they all have something in common. They decided on a 'career' path and then dived headlong into making it a success. They knew how they wanted to spend their time and their lives.
And this is the challenge, because whatever you decide to do you will be trading your life for it and so you have to choose wisely. However, as Keith Cunningham said:
"The decision that you've been delaying is the thing that is keeping you small. It is the decision that is preventing you from becoming the person you should become."
So decide what it is you want to do with your life. Start living your life with passion and on purpose.
If you were given a cent and the ability to double the value of your money everyday for thirty consecutive days then at the end of one month you would have a whopping $5,368,709.12 (five million, three hundred and sixty-eight thousand, seven hundred and nine dollars and twelve cents.
Now doubling your money for 30 consecutive days may seem impractical but what if you could simply double your income and what if you could do so doing what you love instead of grinding out a living? Does this prospect sound appealing?
Many of the people I meet outside of my industry do not do the work they love. They are doing work because it pays the bills. The thing is that you can make money doing work you love and those who have mastered this become very wealthy and often reach a point in their lives where they can take early retirement but they love their work so much that they don't want to give it up.
I believe that each and every one of us has a unique purpose in life. We all have special talents - things that we're good at. When we are doing these things time passes by unnoticed. We feel totally engrossed and alive. Conversely, when we are struggling to do things we do not enjoy time drags by. We feel frustrated, irritable and stressed.
Hence, it's vitally important to discover what your purpose in life is and it is no surprise that your purpose in life is closely aligned to the things you feel passionate about.
Now another human characteristic is that we all have a desire to be and feel successful. Success means different things to different individuals and Robert Allen says that as soon as you start living your life on purpose you become successful.
"Once you're on your purpose path you're instantly successful. You don’t have to achieve your goal to be successful. You just need to discover your path. When you're standing on your path and you take one step forward towards your goal you're instantly successful because you're on your path. Robert Allen
Think about it. You can achieve "success" in a particular area but if it is not something you care very much about the success feels rather hollow.
Conversely, when you achieve even a small measure of success doing something that you love, the feeling of success is magnified.
So the question is how can you do work that you love and make good money doing it at the same time?
Part of problem with this is some people love what they do so much that they think it would be wrong to be paid and paid well for what they do. There are many arguments against this point of view and I'm going to state just one case.
If what you're doing creates value for another individual, would it not be better if you could create value for even more people and or increase the value that you're able to provide those that you serve? Of course it would. And you can do this if you are properly recompensed for the value you provide.
Now you know when you set goals they should be SMART, i.e.
So what if you could double your income over the next 12 months? How would the quality of your life improve? How would your lifestyle change?
This goal certainly is specific, measurable and time-framed but if you're questioning about how realistic achievable it is then I invite you to check out:
Today I interviewed Sharyn Abbott, author of "Create Your Own Reality: The Ancient Wisdom". The interview was scheduled last 60 minutes but it lasted nearly 90 minutes. In truth, I felt as though I could have spent the rest of the evening talking to Sharyn.
Sharyn's new book is dedicated to helping individuals live their lifes on purpose - certainly a very hot topic. People want their lives to have meaning and relevance. People want to live happy and fulfilled lives. People want to leave behind a worthy legacy.
Yet for many, despite how technologically advanced we have become, the quest to live a purpose-filled life is frustratingly elusive.
"We're still struggling with family relationships, financial security, health issues, spiritual conflicts, and even differences between ethnicities."
And, despite evidence that our lives are not on track we often persist down the same route because of our resistance to accept change in our lives.
Many of us become so consumed with survival that we either don't see or ignore the myriad of choices that are presented to us.
So listen to this candid interview and discover:
~ How you can discover your purpose in life,
~ Some of the obstacles that get in the way of people living their lives on purpose,
~ The importance of discovering your passion in life and having the courage to live your passion,
~ How you can conquer your fear by mastering what you fear,
~ How within your biggest challenges lie your greatest gifts,
~ The importance of fully living life in the present moment…
Purchase a copy of Sharyn Abbott's latest book, "Create Your Own Reality: The Ancient Wisdom", or better yet purchase more than one copy so you give the book away as a gift to family members and or loved ones. When you purchase Sharyn's book you'll also be able to receive over $4,500 in bonus gifts. Click the link below for more details:
Events, even those which at the time may seem insignificant, can have a profound effect on our lives and help to shape our destiny.
